invisible
by NuttyGummy
Summary: I am invisible. My family cannot see me and if I try to show them that I am here, they think I am a ghost. I had given up hope of ever become visible again when a small group of travelers came through the gate from a place called Atlantis.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I sadly own very little, and the Atlantis characters are not among the things I do own. **

**Author's Note: Back from a long hiatus, this is my first fan fiction in a while. It is set while Elizabeth Weir is still in command and shortly after Ronan comes to stay at Atlantis.**

**All comments and constructive criticism is more than welcome and greatly appreciated. **

Chapter One

"I think I'm coming down with something." Rodney sneezed loudly and sniffed.

"You're always coming down with something." Ronan shook his head and continued down the overgrown path.

"Do you think anyone even lives on this planet anymore?" John kicked at a half buried stone. "I mean, look at this place. Everything's completely overgrown; it doesn't look like anyone's been on this path in years."

"Perhaps they do not know about the Stargate," Said Teyla.

"Perhaps," said John scanning the surrounding woods.

"Maybe, maybe not but we're about to find out." Rodney waved his life sign detector in John's face.

"That's weird." John took the detector and shook it.

"Hey, hey! What are you doing?" Rodney took it back. What was John thinking? "You can't just . . . that is strange."

"What?"

Rodney glanced at Ronan and then gave the ancient device a little shake himself. "There seems to be some sort of malfunction. According to this the other life sign we detected should be standing right in front of, well you Ronan."

Ronan spread his hands out in front of him. "Nothing."

"Huh." John pocketed the device. "I guess we're flying blind this mission."

_I am invisible._

_I watched as the strangers come through the gate. What could they want?_

_No one has come through the gate in over ten years, not since before the last wraith culling._

_I stand before the four strangers, willing for them to see me. I know they can detect me with that small device they are holding. To them I am a malfunction. To my people, I am a ghost._

_I close my eyes as they put the device away and continue on the abandoned trail. Why had I even hoped that they might be different? We come from different worlds yet we are the same in more than just our appearances. _

_Their clothing is strange. I can tell they are military from the weapons they are holding._

_I do not fear for my people. They do not seem to want to cause us any harm. I gather they are explorers from a place called Atlantis._

_One of them sneezes explosively, the others yell at him to keep up. I think he is a man of science. Men of science, in my experience, have more trouble believing in the unexplainable than others. Perhaps there is hope for me still. _

_It does not take them long to find the town that I grew up in. _

_I swallow hard, fighting back the homesickness. I am only here to find out what the visitors want. And to see if they can possibly help me. _

_The town is strangely quiet; I try to think back, what day is it? Can it have been so long already? I am loosing all sense of time, and that scares me. Everyone must be at the festival. Yes, that is what day it is._

_The strangers pause as they spot a young man coming from around a corner. My heart nearly stops._

_Anthony. _

Rodney felt his forehead for the tenth time that day, positive that he must have a fever. He also had the uneasy feeling that someone was following them.

They met one of the natives. Teyla and John were talking to him, explaining where they had come from. He didn't seem surprised that they came through the gate, he knew exactly what it was for.

He informed them that they had no need to travel off world. Rodney scoffed, that was the most ridiculous statement he had heard all day. Teyla gave him a look from where she stood. "What?"

The town wasn't remarkable, he doubted they had anything that would benefit them in their fight against the wraith. Elizabeth would still insist that they build any kind of alliance that they could with these people. They were explorers after all, even if there wasn't much to explore.

On the bright side, they were invited to join the townspeople in their festivities. Rodney's stomach growled, maybe a little bit of food would make him feel better.

Teyla and John hiked back to the gate to inform Elizabeth that they would be staying the night, learning whatever they could.

Much to Rodney's relief John allowed him and Ronan to stay behind in the town. Ronan didn't seem too pleased to be left behind.

"My name is Anthony." The young man said. "Let me introduce you to my people."

The first person that they met was the mayor. He didn't seem to keen on Rodney and Ronan but he was civil enough. Anthony seemed embarrassed and herded them along to a long table covered with food.

Once Anthony was satisfied that Ronan and Rodney had enough food to last them a while he left to take care of some urgent business. Rodney sat across from a gloomy looking woman.

"Hello."

She smiled sadly. "You are the travelers who came through the gate."

"Yes. Might I say you have some very good cooks on your world?"

She blushed, "You are too kind. My name is Anna."

_Mother. _

_I am ready to cry. I did not think it would be so painful to see them after so many months. _

_I sit on the wooden bench next to her, resting my head on her shoulder, wishing that she could see me or at least sense my presence. _

_She seems to like the strangers. Anthony has arranged for them to stay with her and my little brother for the night. _

_Any doubts I have about them is completely washed away by Anthony's trust. He always was a good judge of character, except when it came to the woman he fell in love with. _

_My mother looks so sad. I wish I could tell her I am all right. I wish I could tell her not to worry. I wish . . . I wish . . ._


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: The only thing I have to my name right now is a quarter. It would be silly to think I own any of the Atlantis characters.**

**Author's Note: Well, here's chapter two, took me a little longer to write than I had anticipated. **

**I wrote about three versions of this chapter before I had one I liked enough to post.**

**All reviews and constructive criticism are more than welcome. **

**Reviewers get cyber cupcakes! **

***A special thanks to everyone who read and reviewed my first chapter.* **

Chapter Two

"Come on doc, nine out of ten." Lorne stood with ping-pong ball in hand; ready to serve it to Carson Beckett.

"I've already won eight out of nine games," he set his paddle on the table. "I have to get back to work at some point today."

"I want a rematch then," said Lorne tossing the ping-pong ball in his hand.

"Count on it."

Lorne really had had no idea what he was getting himself into when he'd asked Carson to play a game of ping-pong with him.

The man was an exceptional doctor and a fine fisherman. However, he had not known that Carson was a master ping-pong player. Lorne pondered a way to use this knowledge to his advantage.

Heading to the cafeteria Lorne ran into a very distracted looking Zelenka. "I need you to come with me."

"Can't it wait until I've had my lunch?"

Zelenka closed his eyes as if he'd been insulted.

"We found a new device in an unexplored part of Atlantis." Said Zelenka, "Dr. Weir wants someone there in case we unintentionally set loose a robot, hell bent on destroying Atlantis."

Lorne thought coming across an ancient robot would be awesome. "That would be cool . . . the robot part, not the Atlantis gets destroyed part."

Zelenka gave him an annoyed look and muttered something in Czech, "Will you come then?"

"Why not? Lunch can wait."

The smell of a musty closed in space washed over Lorne and Zelenka as soon as they stepped off the transporter.

For whatever reason it hadn't been cleared out after the flooding that had occurred during their first year on Atlantis and some wreckage still littered the halls.

"I didn't know that there was anything in this area."

"Neither did we." Zelenka shrugged, "There was never anything here before and now suddenly there is."

"That's strange."

"Very strange," Zelenka agreed leading Lorne into a room a short distance away from the transporter.

There wasn't a lot to see. The lights in that part of the city were back on while Zelenka and the other scientists worked there.

Some computers lined the one wall and in the center of the room sat a dome shaped object.

Lorne leaned against the wall near the door, he was there to observe and not much else as he had been informed by Zelenka and the other scientists on countless occasions.

Ancient devices fascinated him. The weapons were especially interesting.

Lorne nodded to one of the newest members on Atlantis, Lorne thought his name was Ralph. He knew the man was part of one of the SG teams but couldn't remember which one.

He looked nervous and out of place standing in the middle of the room, he was no doubt only there to get the device to turn on.

Normally they would use Shepard or Doctor Beckett to turn a device on. But Shepard and Rodney were still off world and Doctor Beckett avoided ancient devices at all cost for fear of blowing something up.

Zelenka walked back and forth between the device and the computers along the wall.

"So, have we figured out what this thing does?" Zelenka ignored Lorne's inquiry, intent on his work. Lorne looked to Ralph, "What'd they tell you?"

Ralph wiped the palms of his hands on his shirt, swallowing, "Nothing, they didn't tell me anything, I've been kidnapped by scientists. I was on my way to my quarters when Zelenka forced me to come down here and turn on this device for him."

"So they don't know what it does?"

"What I've gathered from their scientific ranting? No."

Lorne chuckled, "What else is new?"

"Can I leave after I turn this thing on?" Ralph shifted from foot to foot. "I really need to get some sleep."

"No," Said Zelenka. "What if we need to shut it off?"

Ralph threw his arms up in the air. "I wish I'd never been born with the gene. It was cool at first now it's just annoying."

"Think of it as job security," Said Lorne.

Zelenka worked on the machinery a few more minutes before stating that they were ready for Ralph.

"Just tell me what to do." Ralph stepped up to device in the center of the room, and pushed up his sleeves.

Before anyone could do anything, the device began flashing and beeping. "What - ?"

Ralph threw up his arms, "I didn't touch a thing."

Lorne reached for the gun at his hip, "Zelenka?"

"Try shutting it off." Zelenka said to Ralph.

"How? I don't even know how it got turned on."

"Here, here." Zelenka grabbed Ralph's arm and placed the younger man's hands on either side of it. "Why are your eyes closed?"

"I'm trying to envision this thing turning off."

"Try something else, it's not working."

"What else do you want me to do? It's not like we've got an instruction manual."

Lorne glanced at Zelenka who shrugged his shoulders. "What's it doing?"

"I don't think it's doing anything . . . yet."

"This isn't working; I think I'm locked out."

Zelenka pushed Ralph away and began to push buttons.

Lorne rolled his eyes and tapped the communication device attached to his ear. "Huston, we've got a problem."

* * *

Rodney couldn't sleep.

It wasn't the lumpy mattress he had been given to sleep on or that he was in a strange environment. It was as if someone or something was deliberately keeping him from sleep.

Every time he felt like he was about to drift off, he thought he heard the sound of someone talking, but when he opened his eyes no one was there and John and Ronan still snored from their mattresses.

He envied the two men; they had drifted off to sleep almost immediately.

All he wanted was to sleep, just for a few hours. He felt a million times worse than he had that morning.

"This is ridiculous!" Rodney thumped at his pillow and rolled over.

"If you don't shut up I will stun you." This came from John.

At first, he thought he was coming down with a cold but now he was wondering if it wasn't something more serious. A visit to Dr. Beckett might be in order when he got back to Atlantis.

Finally giving up on sleep Rodney picked up socks and shoes from the floor where he had abandoned them and crept out of the dark room.

Walking into the kitchen Rodney found Anthony sitting at the short, wooden table, drinking a cup of what looked to tea or coffee.

"I see I'm not the only one who can't sleep." Anthony waved an invitation for Rodney to sit in the chair across from him.

Rodney hadn't expected to find anyone else awake, least of all the young man they had met earlier. "I didn't think you lived here." Rodney was sure the young man wasn't related to the sad woman and her son.

"I don't." He narrowed his eyes. "I told Anna I would stay in case you and your friends turned out to be thieves or murderers." He laughed, "I don't really have to worry about that, do I?"

Rodney shifted in his chair uncomfortable. Something about the way the young man spoke unnerved him. It was as if he knew something that the rest of them couldn't grasp.

"Nothing to worry about from us," Rodney smiled nervously. "Just your average explorers." Bending down to lace his shoes Rodney added, "I gather your mayor doesn't think too much of us."

"It's not you. Not really." Anthony stared into his cup. "Strange things have been happening. A lot of people are on edge." He looked up, "Timing was . . . very bad on your part."

"Why do I get the feeling you're not here just for Anna's protection?"

Anthony ignored Rodney's question and reached for another cup, pouring the same brown liquid he was drinking into it and handing the clay mug to Rodney. "Drink this; it will help with your cold."

Rodney sniffed the cup's contents before taking a cautious sip. It didn't taste too bad.

Anthony didn't seem inclined to anymore conversation and silence fell over them.

After finishing his tea, Rodney returned to his lumpy mattress and slept the remainder of the night away.

When Rodney woke in the morning, he felt completely refreshed. All of his ailments seemed to be gone. He had to see if he could get Anthony to tell him what was in that tea.

John and Ronan were still sleeping.

What time was it? Rodney lifted his arm, holding it an inch away from his face, trying to read the time in the lifting darkness. **5:30**

He was wide-awake and ready to head back to Atlantis. He knew that if he woke them up without a good excuse the consequences would not be something to look forward to.

He lay on his back staring at the white ceiling, his fingers laced behind his head, counting the minutes away when a terrible scream ripped through the house.

Rodney scrambled to his feet, reaching for his gun the same time as John and Ronan.

John poked his head around the corner of their room to find Anthony running from the kitchen.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know," said Anthony taking the stairs two at a time.

Anna and Teyla met the men in the hallway. The screaming was coming from Anna's son, William's room.

John pushed the door open, none of them sure what to expect. Anna's son William sat with his back pressed against the headboards, eyes wide.

"The – the ghost."

John looked skyward. "You had a nightmare."

"It was not a nightmare." The little boy glared at John, seeming offended that they did not believe him. "It was the ghost."

Anthony and Anna exchanged worried glances. They didn't actually believe that William had seen a ghost, did they?

"I think I'll get started on Breakfast," said Anna, "William, please lend me a hand."

William followed his mother, bare feet slapping against the hardwood floor.

Anthony was quick to follow the two.

Before the man could leave, Ronan grabbed him by the arm. "You don't actually believe him do you?"

Anthony pulled his arm away and straightened his shirt. "No. I do not believe it to be a ghost. But I also don't believe that it was a nightmare."

"Then what did he see?" Rodney was getting tired of this closed mouthed crap. He hated when people hinted around at things. Why didn't people just right out and say what they were thinking?

"I'm going to go make sure Anna and her son is all right," Said Teyla leaving the men alone.

"I don't know." Anthony sagged against the wall and slid down until he was in a sitting position. "I don't know." He looked up from where he sat. "I think all of you should return to wherever it was you came from. You won't be welcome here much longer."

"How do you know that?"

Anthony looked grim, "Come with me." He rose to his feet and led them outside.

Sometime during the night, someone had smeared blood on all the doors on the street, "You must leave. My people will think you brought the wrath of the ghost when you came through the gate."

"We can't just leave you," said John, "let us help."

"If you really want to help us, see if you can figure out how to work this." Anthony pulled a small, leather bound book from his back pocket and handed it to Rodney. "I believe everything is somehow connected to this."

* * *

_Anthony was sending them back through the gate. _

"_Don't send them away," I was pleading, even though I knew no one could hear me. "Anthony, please, let them stay and help. They are our only hope."_

_For reasons unknown to me Anthony gave them the journal, he had been carrying around since the accident._

_I swallowed, a lump forming in my throat. It was then that I made what some might consider a rash decision. _

_I followed them through the gate. _


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"As wonderful as I am I don't appreciate being mobbed when I return from a mission." Rodney walked with Dr. Elizabeth Weir through a maze of corridors. They had been on Atlantis for a little over two years and still he got turned around in the city. He couldn't figure out how Dr. Weir always seemed to know exactly where she was going.

"Rodney," Dr. Weir's voice was a warning but he was too worked up to stop now.

"No, I really feel like I can't leave Atlantis for one miserable day without someone messing something up that _I _have to fix when I return. I'm feeling very underappreciated." He paused in the middle or the corridor and rubbed his temple and moaned.

Dr. Weir stopped several feet ahead of him and turned, looking exasperated. "Are you ill?"

"I don't know. It's this headache, it won't go away."

"Do you need to see Dr. Beckett?"

"Maybe . . ."

"All right." She took a deep breath and said, "Take a look at the device. I will send someone down with some pain killers. If it gets any worse go ahead and see Dr. Beckett. Is that reasonable to you?"

Rodney shrugged, "I suppose."

"Good. We're almost there."

Lorne was leaning against the doorway looking bored out of his mind when Rodney and Dr. Weir rounded the corner. He straightened at the sight of them.

"What's the word?"

"Nothing yet, they still haven't been able to figure it out."

Rodney didn't bother taking part in the conversation with Elizabeth Weir and Lorne. There was only one person he wanted to talk to. "Radek! What did you do?"

Radek muttered something in Czech, "I did not do anything. It turned on by itself."

"_Nothing_ can turn on by itself. At some point someone has to turn it on. "

"Nobody touched anything before it turned on."

"Now I'm getting a headache," Said Elizabeth Weir. "Lorne, why don't you go and get some rest. I'll send someone to replace you."

* * *

Teyla sat in her room attempting to meditate but for some reason she did not seem to be able to concentrate. This must be what Ronan felt like the times she had tried to teach him.

Trying to clear her mind once more she couldn't help but get the feeling she wasn't alone, but when she opened her eyes no one was there and the lights were still dimmed, just as she had left them.

Closing her eyes once more she pictured a lake with still water and tried to lose herself in that image.

"_Hello?"_

Teyla's eyes flew open. Certain she had heard a voice, she stood to her feet and turned in a half circle trying to figure out where the voice had come from. "Is anyone there?"

Something hard hit her in the back of the head and she slumped to the floor.

"Sleep well." She heard a muffled voice say.

* * *

"I can't find anything in the database that says what this is." Rodney's stomach growled. "It doesn't even look like any other ancient devices we've come across."

Rodney looked up from the control panel he was standing in front of to see Zelenka slumped over the table they had set up for their own equipment, snoring softly.

"Radek," Rolling his eyes Rodney nudged the man's shoulder, "Get up. If I have to stay awake, so do you."

Zelenka lifted his head, looking bewildered.

"Are you going to help me go through the database or not?" Rodney was getting irritated now.

Zelenka made no reply, instead he yawned and stretched. Looking over to the young soldier who had taken over for Lorne he asked, "Has Dr. Rodney McKay returned yet?"

Rodney scoffed, "Okay, come on. Quit joking around. I'm right here."

"I haven't seen him come back since he went to get something to eat."

Was this some sort of game or something? "I've been back for over an hour! I'm sitting right here!"

Zelenka tapped his ear piece, "Rodney, come in."

"That's it!" Rodney slapped the palms of his hands on the table in front of him and walked over to Zelenka. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing but it needs to stop now."

Zelenka jumped at the sound of Rodney's palms slapping against the table but he still seemed to look right through him.

"What was that?" asked the younger man.

"I don't know." He walked over to the device and began pressing buttons.

"Okay, cut it out! I'm right here!" Irritated Rodney pushed a pile of papers onto the floor.

Radek tapped his ear piece once more, "Colonel Shepard, you may want to come down here. Something very strange is going on."

Rodney slumped into his chair, a knot in his stomach. He felt like a vice was tightening around his already pounding head. They couldn't see him.

A young woman he had never seen before entered the room and looked from the device to him to the papers he had knocked on the floor.

Her dirty-blond hair was wound into a braid atop her head and she dressed in the same manner of people on the world they had just returned from.

"Oh no," She said looking sick. "Oh no, no, no!" She walked over to the device and touched it hesitantly. "This is not good."

"Don't touch that," said Rodney, even though it seemed no one could hear him anymore either.

She pulled her hand away as if she had been burned and looked at him in a way she hadn't before. "What did you do?"

Rodney straightened, "You can see me?"

"Of course I can see you, the fact that you can see and talk to me is the problem."

"Who are you?"

"How did you turn yourself invisible? You must reverse it and then destroy this machine. You are my only hope." The young woman stood with her arms at her sides, her hands balled into fists.

"I think you are the one who should be telling me what is going on."

"There's no time!" Her hand hovered over the control panel. "Do you know how to turn it off?"

Rodney ran over and grabbed her by the wrist; there was no way he was going to let her mess with the device. "I'm afraid you're going to have to make time."

"You must turn it off!" her hands were shaking.

"What do you think I have been trying to do since I got back? What does it do?"

"You mean other than turn people invisible?"

Rodney nodded.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

She pulled her wrist away, looking at him darkly. "We didn't actually get a chance figure that out on my world before the device exploded."

Rodney swallowed feeling lightheaded. "Exploded?"

"You're hurting my arm, let go." She pushed at Rodney knocking him off balance and into the table. The table and all the equipment crashed to the floor with Rodney.

* * *

_I felt ill. _

_I hadn't meant to push him over. I hadn't thought that he would fall over so easily. I had only wanted him to let go of me! _

_I didn't see any blood; I rushed to his side and felt the back of his head. I could feel a lump forming but nothing more. _

"_Please wake up." I said shaking him a little. "You have to get up." He moaned a little but his eyes remained closed._

_I closed my eyes and concentrated on my breathing, trying to calm myself. He probably only had the wind knocked out of him, he would be fine._

"_I'm sorry." I said patting either side of his face with my hands. "I didn't mean to knock you out. I – I feel like I don't have control over my own body sometimes. It's been getting worse. Oh please wake up." _

_He opened his eyes and I leaned back relieved. "I'm so sorry," I said repeating myself. "I'll tell you everything I know . . .though I'm afraid it's not much."_

_He slowly sat up, looking at me through narrowed eyes. "I'm hungry."_

_I followed him at a safe distance to the now empty cafeteria. _

_Maybe this wasn't such a bad thing. If we could figure out how to turn him visible again he would know now know there was someone who needed his help. _

_None of the other people I had tried to contact seemed to be aware of my presence. And while I thought Rodney had heard me once before he left my home planet I hadn't gotten any further with him until now._

"_We can still eat can't we?" he asked going into the kitchen. To which I nodded, only coming into the spacious kitchen a little ways. _

_We should not be wasting time making something to eat. I didn't know how long until the energy in the device built up and exploded. We had to find the journal Anthony had given him._

"_Are you not concerned," I asked quietly._

"_Of course I'm concerned," he didn't look up from the sandwich he was making. "But I'm hungry and I work better on a full stomach." He handed me one of the sandwiches he had made and sat on the counter. "So, exactly who are you?"_

"_My name is Alisa." _

Authors Note:

Sorry for taking so long with an update. I've been in the process of moving everything over to a new laptop. It took way longer than I thought it would.

Click that review button and let me know what you thought!

A special thanks to Who-wants-to-know?, Sandy Hex and Amethyst Princess 27 for taking the time to review my story!


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